The psychic apparatus of the schizophrenic is conceptualized as an unstable, "high-pressure" energy system with a limited capacity for discharge. A critical feature of this system is the superego, with its introjected maternal constituent, conceptualized as a disordered regulating agency functioning through the intrapsychic release of nonneutralized aggressive energy in a rigid, nonflexible manner. The innate tendency of the system toward organization and integration is evoked in its attempt to maintain an intrapsychic steady state in the presence of a superego which acts as a disturbing foreign body. One expression of this tendency is the schizophrenic's wish for oral unity with his mother.

Anterior lobotomy disrupts (in a nonspecific manner) the schizophrenic pattern of superego function. In men modifications in the manner of dealing with the incest conflict are prominently observed, while in women the manner of dealing with problems of maternal identification is modified. New, more effective and varied avenues of libidinal and aggressive energy discharge become